1. Field
This invention relates to items of apparel and more particularly to preformed neckties which are readily fitted around a wearer's neck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Neckties are an item of apparel and are typically secured around the neck. Four-in-hand ties may be formed into various knots (e.g., windsor, half windsor, overhand) which some find difficult or inconvenient to tie. As a result, several types of preformed neckties have been devised. Typical of such neckties are: U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,807 (Espino), U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,264 (Mathison), U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,585 (Girdler) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,539 (Najarian).
In the foregoing patents, the necktie is simply clamped or hooked to the shirt in the area where the shirt is buttoned together at the collar. In using such ties, the clamp or hook is often exposed to view. In addition, modern shirts with a large intercollar span make such ties conspicuous by the lack of a neck encircling portion (neck loop). Some users rely upon tightening of the tie neck loop to achieve a proper fit of the shirt about the neck even when the buttoned shirt collar otherwise hangs loosely on the wearer. Neckties without neck loops cannot compensate for differences in slackness.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,508 (Minor) discloses a necktie having a neck loop which is held in a preformed knot by a pointed zipper slide tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,247,184 (Burfening) discloses a preformed necktie having a neck loop which is closeable by a zipper. The zipper slide is outside of the tie knot, and is attached by a screw to a plate which forms the back of the fabric knot. The plate is sewn to the knot.
In Burfening, the pendent position of the neck loop (including the zipper) appears to be spaced from the front tie, and therefore would be visible, especially from the side. Furthermore, the knot itself would appear to stand away from the neck loop. In addition, the knot of Burfening appears to be built up of layers of cloth which may deform relative to the solid plate to adversely affect the aesthetic appearance of the knot.
Also, in Burfening the force holding the neck loop in the proper position on the wearer's neck depends only upon the friction in the zipper slide. As the zipper slide loosens with wear, the tie will tend to slip from the wearer's neck. Further, the fabrication of the Burfening tie would appear to require considerable cutting, folding and sewing which would in turn appear to increase production costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,127,618 (Roach) also discloses a preformed necktie with a separate neck loop closeable by a zipper. Unlike the Burfening device, the Roach neck loop passes through the built-up knot, and the zipper slide is held in the knot by its tab, which passes through a slot in the knot fabric. Alternatively, a hook shaped projection replaces the tab, and engages the lower rear edge of the knot to support the slide. Like the tie of Burfening, the Roach tie also appears to require considerable cutting, folding and sewing to form the knot.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,698 (Byrd, et al.) shows a preformed necktie which uses a rigid plate sewn into the rear portion of the knot. The plate has slide flanges which diverge upwardly. The slider tab is held in a slot formed on the plate wall. All of the resistance to opening the neck loop is derived from the slider friction. The knot portion of the tie is formed from folded cloth encircling the plate and sewn together at the back of the plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,192 (Harris) discloses a preformed four-in-hand necktie which differs from that of Byrd, et al. in that the knot is tieable and untieable by hand rather than comprising a permanent preformed structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,453 (Chen, et al.) discloses a pre-tied necktie ostensibly differing from the Harris structure only in that the knot support has a hollow slightly oval shape in its plan view. An M-shaped clamp may be used to stabilize the knot. The slider tab, knot support member and upper end of the outer tie member are joined by a rivet.
The Chen, et al. necktie, as well as other preformed neckties of the prior art suffer from a construction which permits the zipper to be rubbed or pressed against the knot fabric while the neck loop is being opened or closed. Those locations are on a visible portion of the knot, and the rapid wear which occurs limits the useful life of the necktie.
Much of the prior art suffers in that the visible features readily reveal that the necktie is not hand-tied. In some ties, undue manipulation is required for installation and removal. Others require excessive labor to produce and assemble.
There remains the need for a preformed necktie which is aesthetically indistinguishable from a hand-tied necktie when worn, is capable of absorbing long-term use and abuse without deforming, breaking or undue wear, is easily installed and removed, and may be produced with minimal labor.